Climate Design Plan

The district of Nordhausen aims to meet its energy needs completely in a climate-neutral way by 2050. To achieve this, the impacts of human-induced climate change in both urban and rural areas must be identified. Only then can appropriate measures for climate protection be developed, taking into account building culture and cultural landscapes, as the measures to renew energy systems are inevitably associated with significant changes in building and landscape culture.

The climate design plan shows how a climate-neutral energy transformation and climate adaptation strategy could look in a newly intertwined urban-rural climate region like Nordhausen. It serves as a basis for participation-related communication of future landscape transformation and, as an instrument and method, the informal climate design plan is designed in such a way that it can be incorporated into formal planning such as regional plans, land-use plans, landscape plans, and the like.

The Hochschule Nordhausen, together with the Hochschule für nachhaltige Entwicklung Eberswalde and the Thüringer Institut für Nachhaltigkeit und Klimaschutz Jena, developed the Klima-Gestaltungsplan (climate design plan) from 2018 to 2021 as a ›Development Plan for Energy, Climate, and Spatial Design‹ for the city and district of Nordhausen. Potential development options for CO2 neutrality were examined based on a spatially conserving and shaping scenario, and the result was determined that a zero-emission of greenhouse gases in energy supply can only be achieved by 2050 with significant changes in the urban and rural environment. The changes in the surrounding area are more pronounced than those in the urban area. The electricity demand can be completely covered, although the shift towards e-mobility generates a significant increase in demand. However, the assumed maximum share of agricultural land for the production of fuels or energy crops is still too low at 20% for full heating supply. The ›heat deficit‹ must be compensated by a ›power surplus‹ which, in turn, would be made possible by a high proportion of heat pumps in the heat supply.

One focus of the design plan is dealing with the conflicts between the necessary provision of renewable energy systems, the necessary adaptations to climate change, and the development of meaningful and locally implementable options. Thus, fundamental design principles for landscape and urban space types were conceived, which reconcile the requirements from the expansion of renewable energies and the climate adaptation measures with cultural landscape design measures. Secondly, quantitative target values were developed for the municipal administration units, which are illustrated using ›climate suns‹ as an instrument for success control. The climate sun refers to the potentials of the area under consideration and equally represents 17 key figures in the areas of energy and mobility, climate change adaptation, and the design of urban and landscape space. It serves to present measurable goals for adapting to climate change and expanding renewable energies. The data is based fundamentally on publicly available sources and is thus suitable for recurring monitoring. Thirdly, recommendations were formulated for the regional plan for North Thuringia and the preparatory land-use planning, as well as for municipal statutes, stipulations in development plans, and climate agreements with municipal actors. Because not only in North Thuringia but also in other regions of Germany, the municipal planning authorities suffer from a low personnel base and high planning needs. The climate design plan offers support and is not least a plea for more investment in administration, public relations, and transformation design.

The results were publicly presented and discussed through events and a traveling exhibition across the district of Nordhausen. An intensive further participation process is an integral part of the concept to ensure that the Climate Design Plan is widely applied and the goals can be realized by 2050.